The Jackrabbits entered the first round of the FCS playoffs on Saturday full of confidence after their over time road win over UND to end the regular season. That confidence came from snapping a four game winning streak and seemingly finding their swagger again. It was boosted by the return of Chase Mason and it resulted in the team playing possibly their most complete game of the season in a 41-3 win over the Wildcats.
*Note: at the time of writing this the gojacks.com schedule and stats pages are down so I am using the stats from espn.com.
Rants & Raves
Rave: This was a classic SDSU performance. They bodied bagged a completely overmatched UNH team early and did basically whatever they wanted from start to finish. The defense was solid and the offense was spectacular. The clear advantage UNH had heading into this game was on special teams and that was completely mitigated by the weather.
Rave: Chase Mason was rust free in his return, throwing for 230 yards and 3 TDs on 16/20 passing. People talk frequently about his arm strength but I forget how different it truly is. He’s elite and it was fun to hear New Hampshire’s coach rave about him in the postgame presser. He didn’t run the ball and never really needed to because…
Rave: The #605Hogs played another terrific game. This new configuration of Nate Adams at center, Shane Willenbring at guard, and John Pica at tackle is working really really well. Yes, UNH’s defensive line is smaller but we saw the #605Hogs struggle with “smaller” offensive lines earlier in the season. The switching is weird and definitely has to mess with the mentals/keys of the opposing front 7.
Rave: Because of the #605Hogs playing so well, the running game (a mess for most of the season) has been unlocked. The Jacks put up 193 yards (4.8) ypc and 2 TDs. It was a phenomenal effort and almost all of the yards came from the backs besides 11 yards from Mason and Jack Henry.
Rave: SDSU was tremendous on 3rd down, another area where they had struggled this season, and went 8 of 12 on the day. This is winning football!
Rave: The Jackrabbit pass catchers were also spectacular in making some really difficult catches. 7 different guys hauled in a pass and the recent trend of incorporating the tight end appears to be paying dividends. Kuntz, Gannon, and Gustad hauled in 5 passes for 57 yards and 2 TDs.
Rave: Shoutout to the crew that was doing their best to keep the field clean throughout the game. My goodness! It was hard to tell on the broadcast what was what but their efforts at least let us know where the next five yards were.
Rave: I love how our wide receivers have improved in their downfield blocking this year. Jacks Smith’s electric 42 touchdown catch and run doesn’t happen without Alex Bullock’s block. The same can be said for Coleman Kuntz’s touchdown catch and run as well.
Rave: The defense was absolutely suffocating holding UNH to just 3 points and 192 rushing yards. From what the ESPN announcers said, the Wildcats felt like their advantage was on the perimeter but they gave that up due to the weather. Given the success SDSU had in the passing game, that seems like a mistake. The SDSU defense seemed more than happy to let them run the ball.
Rave: The defense, like the offense, was terrific on 3rd down holding UNH to just 4 of 14.
Rant: However, the defense was not good on 4th down allowing UNH to convert on 4 of 5 tries. This is likely due to the poor footing and a few poor spots from the officials.
Rave: I thought Jalen continued his hot streak. He’ll haul in the next INT opportunity.
Rave: Upfront, Logan Green was dominant! I know the stats aren’t their but at this point, I’d take him at defensive tackle over anyone I’ve seen the Jacks play this year.
Rave: Once again, I thought Bryce Johnson played really well. Matt Goering also flashed on my screen a few times throughout the game in some extended action.
Rant: I though some of UNH’s success running the ball (144 yards/4.4 ypc) was some alignment issues. It looked like (to my untrained eye) that there were some clear mismatches in the numbers game that clearly favored UNH. I’m sure the team will get this cleared up but it was a little odd to see.
Rave: Isaiah Johnson made a terrific INT and Aydan Dauterman continued his ascent at the other CB spot. They continue to play better.
Rave: Have to give a huge shoutout to Julius Loughridge on reaching the 1,000 yard mark in what has been an up and down season. He seems to be running like the guy we saw in the first few weeks of the season.
Rave: We didn’t get to see the weapon, Max Pelham yesterday but overall I thought special teams was really solid given the conditions. UNH’s kicker was a non-factor and we totally eliminated their kick returner with the decision to play games on kickoff.
Rave: Myles Taylor deserves his kudos as well for handling the punt returns with confidence after really struggling the final two weeks of the season.
Rave: Finally, I have to give a huge shoutout to the fans that made it. You were loud, into the game, and provided ESPN with some awesome footage for b-roll. This is the first home playoff game I have missed and was disappointed to not be there but I had made a commitment after the teams 7-0 start that I would be at a family event (luckily the game ended before it started).
Game Balls
Offense: Chase Mason
Defense: The entire defense
Special Teams: Myles Taylor
Go Jacks!
Matt
One Response
Great to have Chase back!! Great passing and the recievers did some incredibile catches! The roads weren’t good but I was glad I drove to the game and met friends to be there for the playoff game!! Cold, snowing and windy….just what the Jacks needed!!